Serial Goodness

By: Matthew Battles
March 29, 2010

Serial fiction is both ancient and modern. Sheherazade spoke in serial fiction; today it finds its foothold in telenovelas and the rabbit-hole vagaries of Lost.

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The mysterious gentleman rose in the midst of the question-and-answer session. His aspect drained the color from the ministers’ faces. And then, without a word spoken (could he speak?), he turned and left the chamber.

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Although serial fiction has been trashing Aristotle’s Unities for unnumbered centuries, it came into its own in the late nineteenth century. Some of our favorite authors — from Dickens to Doyle, from Louisa May Alcott to H. G. Wells — did their best work in serial form.

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He climbed into a waiting portmanteau, which carried him out of well-lit Westminster into the darker precincts of London proper…

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Which is partly why Hilobrow is committed to exploring the serial form — the lingua franca of comics and of science fiction, the highborn form that helps writers pay the bills.

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His next appearance, at a boxing-match in the East End, drew no looks of astonishment, for he kept to the shadows. He snickered to think how many in attendance believed their money to be safe…


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But we’re also planning to publish James Parker’s smashing novel, THE BALLAD OF COCKY THE FOX, because we’re burning to answer a simple question —

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…which he knew was not the case. But many wondered that night, in Westminster and the East End alike:

Who is the Foxy Gentleman?

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Over on Kickstarter, We’ve nearly raised the money we need to publish James’s foxy tale. But it’s not too late to join Cocky’s Brigade! Be part of a fun venture in new/old publishing, and get in on some great swag — from an exciting biweekly newsletter to copies of the finished work to signed artwork by Cocky illustrator Kristin Parker, there’s something for everyone.

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